A Brief History of the Golden Hill Paugussetts
by Jan Lee Brookes
The following information was taken from A History of Connecticut’s Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe by Charles Brilvitch, published in 2008. At the time of publication, Mr. Brilvitch was the Bridgeport city historian. He was hired by the Paugussett Tribal Nation to research and write their history. He used several area historical accounts, as well as church, census, land, probate and vital records, Bridgeport city directories and newspapers, and General Assembly papers among his primary sources.
In the centuries before contact with Europeans, Paugussetts occupied 500,000 acres of land that was more or less funnel shaped. The small end of the funnel was along the coast in what is today Milford and Bridgeport. The cone of the funnel extended to western Connecticut and eastern New York State and included the present day cities and towns of Danbury, Waterbury, Woodbury, Southbury, Naugatuck, Derby, Shelton, Trumbull, Easton, Westport, Fairfield, Stratford, Bridgeport, and Milford. Paugussetts lived in semi- nomadic villages; the Pootatucks in Southbury and Newtown, the Naugatucks in Shelton and Derby, Pequannocks in Bridgeport, and Wepawaugs in Milford.
Traditionally, the Paugussetts and Pequots, who lived in eastern Connecticut, were enemies. The Paugussetts spoke an Algonquian language: the Pequot language had Iroquoian roots. In 1637 the main Pequot fort at Mystic was burned by a group of colonists and their Narragansett allies. Those who ran out of their burning wigwams were shot as they emerged from the fort. Survivors who miraculously escaped were hunted and chased down in a swamp in Fairfield. Those captured were sold into slavery in the Caribbean. Any Paugussetts who had the misfortune to be in the area were also rounded up and sold along with the Pequots. Following the massacre, Pequots and Paugussetts sought refuge in the forests of western Connecticut and eastern New York State where they joined tribes like the Oneida or formed a new tribe centered around Kent, Connecticut, called the Schaghticoke.
Until about 1720 when they were replaced by Africans, Indian slaves were a regular and accepted feature of colonial life in southern New England. While Native men and women leaders were more likely to be sold into slavery in the Caribbean, women and children were slaves on local farms. The practice met two needs: the total subjugation of people who had prior claim to the land, and filling the requirement for scarce labor.
Over the next two centuries Paugussett reservations were reduced or eliminated when courts supported the claims of White settlers over those of the Paugussetts, and they were forced to relocate to another smaller piece of land.
Unscrupulous Indian agents stole money held in trust by the General Assembly in payment for Paugussett land, or sold Paugussett land to pay debts of individual tribal members. By 1970, Paugussett land was reduced to a half an acre in Trumbull, Connecticut. Later, using two federal grants, Paugussetts purchased 108 acres in Colchester, Connecticut, for tribal use.
The census of 1820 shows a handful of “free persons of color” with surnames common to later generations of Paugussetts (Hawley, Mitchell, Phillips, Edwards) lived in an area between Bridgeport and Fairfield called Ethiope, from two Greek roots that mean people with burnished skin. Brilvitch notes that in the early decades of the 19th century the census identified the race of residents as White, Black/African, with Colored/Mulatto as being somewhere in between. There was no separate category for Indian until 1870.
Beginning in the 1820’s, in what is today the southeastern section of Bridgeport, on land considered undesirable for Whites because it was close to salt marshes and the site of a lampblack factory and later a turpentine factory, a community of Paugussetts began to coalesce. This area, roughly a half mile south of central Bridgeport, was called Ethiope in the 1820’s and 30’s and then was renamed Liberia from the 1840’s onward. In 1830, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, decreeing that Native Americans either assimilate into White society or be removed to Oklahoma Territory.
In 1841, the residents of Ethiope petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly for a school for free persons of color. Later they would construct two churches. For several decades in the 19th century Ethiope/Liberia was a vibrant cohesive community.
Prior to the Civil War, resident of Ethiope/Liberia were active in the Underground Railroad. Shinnecock Indians ferried escaping slaves across Long Island Sound to Liberia. From there, Paugussetts and free Blacks who lived among them took slaves up river to Plymouth, Connecticut.
During this period Paugussetts supported themselves as barbers and waiters, two occupations in which they had a virtual monopoly in Bridgeport. They were also cooks and maids in wealthy homes, cooks on ships, and seamen. They wore western style clothes, assumed European names, educated their children in English speaking schools, built and lived in European style homes, and built European style churches that became the center of their communal life.
Newtown Residents of Ethiope
It’s important to note that because several Paugussetts married free African Americans, it’s often difficult to ascertain the race of a marriage partner from existing records. Caroline Purdy was a Paugussett. While James may have been an African American, he might also have been a Paugussett.
Several residents of Southbury, also home to the Pootatuck band of the Paugussett nation, such as the Gibsons, moved to Ethiope as married spouses of men who already lived there.
Dissolution of Ethiope/Liberia
Between 1870-1880 the population of Bridgeport grew from just under 20,000 to slightly more than 29,000 as African Americans from southern states and poorer European immigrants arrived. The borders of Bridgeport grew to encompass Ethiope. Several Paugussetts moved to more desirable locations in Bridgeport or to other towns. However, many Paugussetts continued to live in Bridgeport where some of their descendants reside today.
In the centuries before contact with Europeans, Paugussetts occupied 500,000 acres of land that was more or less funnel shaped. The small end of the funnel was along the coast in what is today Milford and Bridgeport. The cone of the funnel extended to western Connecticut and eastern New York State and included the present day cities and towns of Danbury, Waterbury, Woodbury, Southbury, Naugatuck, Derby, Shelton, Trumbull, Easton, Westport, Fairfield, Stratford, Bridgeport, and Milford. Paugussetts lived in semi- nomadic villages; the Pootatucks in Southbury and Newtown, the Naugatucks in Shelton and Derby, Pequannocks in Bridgeport, and Wepawaugs in Milford.
Traditionally, the Paugussetts and Pequots, who lived in eastern Connecticut, were enemies. The Paugussetts spoke an Algonquian language: the Pequot language had Iroquoian roots. In 1637 the main Pequot fort at Mystic was burned by a group of colonists and their Narragansett allies. Those who ran out of their burning wigwams were shot as they emerged from the fort. Survivors who miraculously escaped were hunted and chased down in a swamp in Fairfield. Those captured were sold into slavery in the Caribbean. Any Paugussetts who had the misfortune to be in the area were also rounded up and sold along with the Pequots. Following the massacre, Pequots and Paugussetts sought refuge in the forests of western Connecticut and eastern New York State where they joined tribes like the Oneida or formed a new tribe centered around Kent, Connecticut, called the Schaghticoke.
Until about 1720 when they were replaced by Africans, Indian slaves were a regular and accepted feature of colonial life in southern New England. While Native men and women leaders were more likely to be sold into slavery in the Caribbean, women and children were slaves on local farms. The practice met two needs: the total subjugation of people who had prior claim to the land, and filling the requirement for scarce labor.
Over the next two centuries Paugussett reservations were reduced or eliminated when courts supported the claims of White settlers over those of the Paugussetts, and they were forced to relocate to another smaller piece of land.
Unscrupulous Indian agents stole money held in trust by the General Assembly in payment for Paugussett land, or sold Paugussett land to pay debts of individual tribal members. By 1970, Paugussett land was reduced to a half an acre in Trumbull, Connecticut. Later, using two federal grants, Paugussetts purchased 108 acres in Colchester, Connecticut, for tribal use.
The census of 1820 shows a handful of “free persons of color” with surnames common to later generations of Paugussetts (Hawley, Mitchell, Phillips, Edwards) lived in an area between Bridgeport and Fairfield called Ethiope, from two Greek roots that mean people with burnished skin. Brilvitch notes that in the early decades of the 19th century the census identified the race of residents as White, Black/African, with Colored/Mulatto as being somewhere in between. There was no separate category for Indian until 1870.
Beginning in the 1820’s, in what is today the southeastern section of Bridgeport, on land considered undesirable for Whites because it was close to salt marshes and the site of a lampblack factory and later a turpentine factory, a community of Paugussetts began to coalesce. This area, roughly a half mile south of central Bridgeport, was called Ethiope in the 1820’s and 30’s and then was renamed Liberia from the 1840’s onward. In 1830, Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, decreeing that Native Americans either assimilate into White society or be removed to Oklahoma Territory.
In 1841, the residents of Ethiope petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly for a school for free persons of color. Later they would construct two churches. For several decades in the 19th century Ethiope/Liberia was a vibrant cohesive community.
Prior to the Civil War, resident of Ethiope/Liberia were active in the Underground Railroad. Shinnecock Indians ferried escaping slaves across Long Island Sound to Liberia. From there, Paugussetts and free Blacks who lived among them took slaves up river to Plymouth, Connecticut.
During this period Paugussetts supported themselves as barbers and waiters, two occupations in which they had a virtual monopoly in Bridgeport. They were also cooks and maids in wealthy homes, cooks on ships, and seamen. They wore western style clothes, assumed European names, educated their children in English speaking schools, built and lived in European style homes, and built European style churches that became the center of their communal life.
Newtown Residents of Ethiope
- Rufus Shepard moved to Ethiope in 1822.
- Rosanna Brush married Tuenis Green in Bridgeport in 1822. Tunis or Tuenis is a Dutch name and common among people along the Hudson. Tunis was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, and moved to Ethiope from Redding, after having lived on the Lonetown Reservation in Redding, CT.
- Tunis Green’s daughter, Caroline, married James Purdy of Newtown in Bridgeport in 1835. Purdy provided the money for his father-in-law to refinance a loan in 1842. James and Caroline’s son, George, fought in the Connecticut Colored Infantry in the Civil War. He inherited his grandfather’s estate. George is also mentioned in William Sherman’s (a pivotal Paugussett) diary as a friend and co-worker.
- Members of the Edwards family of Newtown were labeled as Native Americans in marriage and other documents.
It’s important to note that because several Paugussetts married free African Americans, it’s often difficult to ascertain the race of a marriage partner from existing records. Caroline Purdy was a Paugussett. While James may have been an African American, he might also have been a Paugussett.
Several residents of Southbury, also home to the Pootatuck band of the Paugussett nation, such as the Gibsons, moved to Ethiope as married spouses of men who already lived there.
Dissolution of Ethiope/Liberia
Between 1870-1880 the population of Bridgeport grew from just under 20,000 to slightly more than 29,000 as African Americans from southern states and poorer European immigrants arrived. The borders of Bridgeport grew to encompass Ethiope. Several Paugussetts moved to more desirable locations in Bridgeport or to other towns. However, many Paugussetts continued to live in Bridgeport where some of their descendants reside today.
Sources Used:
Brilvitch, Charles, A History of Connecticut's Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe, The History Press, 2007
Green, Rick, "The First Slaves", Hartford Courant, September 29, 2002, https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2002-09-29-0209291309-story.html
Brilvitch, Charles, A History of Connecticut's Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe, The History Press, 2007
Green, Rick, "The First Slaves", Hartford Courant, September 29, 2002, https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2002-09-29-0209291309-story.html